


Snow-Capped Cocoa

by guiltyhearts



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Meet-Cute, Multi, Zine: Two Sides: A SoKai & RokuNami Fanzine (Kingdom Hearts), but they kinda do, i won't say that hot chocolate brings these kids together, winter lodge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26717395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guiltyhearts/pseuds/guiltyhearts
Summary: A scenic winter lodge is just the kind of place for a meet-cute. || Written for Two Sides: SoKai and RokuNami Zine
Relationships: Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas & Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	Snow-Capped Cocoa

**Author's Note:**

> This was first published on the Two Sides fanzine, and then posted publicly on my tumblr in 2019. 
> 
> If you'd like to learn more and get a link to their merch store, you can check out their twitter: https://twitter.com/twosidesfanzine
> 
> Comments are much appreciated!

It was suffocating in the lodge. Were it not for this insufferable cold he had so clearly recovered from, Roxas would have joined his friends out at the slopes. By all accounts, he was much better than he was a week ago, when his cold immobilized him and left him bedridden. Axel, of all people, ganged up on him with his brother Sora, and forced Roxas to stay in, lest it “aggravate the bacteria any further”, according to him. But he would stand for being the only person in their group of friends who would be alone and bored at the lodge resort. Fortunately for him, he brought his camera. He would indulge in this hobby if nothing else. And so, appropriately bundled up with the camera around his neck, Roxas stepped out of the main resort and welcomed the crisp, cool air.

He set about trudging through the snow and taking pictures of whatever caught his eye. The snow-capped trees and slopes in the distance, the winter sun cast over the lodge and mountains, kids having a snowball fight, a young woman drawing in a sketchbook. From his vantage point some meters away from the resort, her focus didn’t seem to stray from the book on her lap.

A hundred pictures later, Roxas made his way to the benches just outside the lodge to take a break and review the pictures taken so far. All the benches were occupied, including the artist from before. The space next to her was occupied by a Styrofoam cup that was topped with an excessive amount of whipped cream and silver sprinkles decorated together like H2O molecules.

“Is it okay if I sit here?” He asked the girl, who looked up at last. The lower half of her face was covered by an oversized scarf, so only her blue eyes were visible. The girl nodded, removing the cup to make room. He thanked her and settled comfortably. He set his camera to review the pictures taken so far, and deleting the less-than-perfect ones.

“That’s pretty.”

Roxas looked up at the sudden voice and its source. The girl next to him had taken her scarf down. 

_Yeah, that is pretty,_ he thought, taking in the full face of the girl and her gentle smile. 

When he didn’t answer right away, the girl continued. “The picture. It’s good.”

Roxas snapped back to attention and looked down at the picture on display. It was of the mountains over them; he timed the shot so that it created the illusion of the sunlight spilling through the gaps to illuminate the snow.

“Thank you. I like it too. I’m Roxas, by the way.” 

“My name is Naminé.” 

“It’s nice to meet a new fan.” Roxas joked, which elicited a light giggle from her.

“Can I be honest and say, you sound… off. Are you recovering from a cold?” Naminé asked with a look of mild concern.

“Actually, yeah,” Roxas admitted abashedly. “But I’m much better. I actually wanted to go snowboarding with my friends, but they kinda forced me to stay back until I was fully recovered, by their standards.”

“So it’s safe for you to be out here.” Naminé pointed out warily.

“Well…” Roxas’s eyes darted to the sides, before leaning forward and whispering like a conspirator, “they said nothing about me going outside. All they said was I wasn’t well enough to go snowboarding.”

Naminé let out another giggle. “You sure showed them, then.” She said, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, I’ll have you know this is a bonafide act of rebellion.” Roxas shot back with a playful grin. Naminé laughed harder, covering her mouth with her hand. His chest swelled delightedly at the sound. It seemed like he took her by surprise, but not in an unpleasant or unwelcome way. 

“What about you? What brings you here?” Roxas asked in turn.

“I suppose it’s the same as you. I’m here with my friends. They wanted to go skiing and snowboarding, I didn’t, so here I am.”

“Here you are.” Roxas grinned. Was he glad at this turn of events.

Naminé toyed with a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “You know, a little part of me wished I did join them. But…”

“...but?”

“...but now, given the present company, I don’t mind as much anymore.” She bravely held his gaze for a moment before she looked down at her lap. She missed his bright, hopeful smile.

“I couldn’t agree more.” 

This time, Naminé didn’t miss Roxas’s smile, and gave back one just as bright.

“Can I see what you were drawing?” Roxas nodded down at the sketchbook on her lap.

“Of course!” Naminé scooched closer to show off her latest sketch of tiny figures descending a white slope.

* * *

Just as Sora made his way down the slopes on his third trip, another snowboarder cut through his path at lightning speed. He didn’t recognize the rider from their group of friends, and soon it became an unspoken challenge to race to the finish line.

The rush of wind against his ears. The icy wind against his form as he slid down the clear slopes. The adrenaline did not diminish at any point, as if strengthening him every second he slid further down, down down. The sensations felt as he rode down the slopes were unparalleled. Even as the other snowboarder barely beat him to the bottom of the slope, the adrenaline could only diminish lightly, but not entirely. Nothing could compare or come close to the thrill of the ride.

That was what Sora thought. Then the snowboarder took off their goggles and he got a proper look at her face for the first time. In hindsight, he couldn’t be sure what made him more winded.

“You’re amazing!” Sora breathed out.

“Sorry?” The girl frowned, her eyes creasing.

“I-I mean!” He stuttered, suddenly aware of himself. “You-you are amazing! At the slopes. At snowboarding.” Smooth as the slopes he was.

The girl grinned, propping her hands on her hips. “Not bad for a rookie, huh?”

“You’re a rookie? I couldn’t tell.” Sora said as he took off his beanie and his wild hair was freed. Had he been looking closer, he might have noticed how the girl stared at him, her fingers twitching as she wondered what his hair felt like.

“Thank you.” She stammered with a flush in her cheeks.

“I’m Sora. It’s nice to meet you.” He offered his hand to the snowboarder with a jovial smile.

“I’m Kairi.” She shook his hand in response.

They held the other’s hand perhaps just a little longer than was normal. And they could never say for sure.

“Kairi.” She immediately liked how her name sounded coming from him. “How’s about another race, Kairi?”

“You must really like losing then.” She grinned at the challenge.

“Oh-hoh, we’ll see about that. Best two out of three!”

“You’re on!”

And it became a race back to the ski lifts, even as they eventually realized that running would only tire them out more, not to mention nearly impossible to do in heavy snow gear. That didn’t stop them from goading each other along the way. They reached the top and before they knew it, they were racing down the slopes again. This time, they were fueled with competitive spirit, and (though they wouldn’t admit it yet), the desire to impress the other. Even if Sora wanted to win so badly, his wounded pride was a non-issue as he heard Kairi whoop triumphantly. 

They made their way back to the ski lift at a much slower pace as the fatigue started to settle in.

“I don’t know about you, but I could really go for some hot cocoa when we go back.” Sora was wistful at the thought. 

“I second that. You know, the restaurant sells this cocoa where they top up the whipped cream like one of the mountains.” Kairi added.

“I wanna see that!” Sora practically hopped at the thought.

“Yeah! We can get some together later… maybe?” Kairi asked nervously.

Sora beamed. “Definitely!”

* * *

When the group of boys came back to a Roxas who was less grumpy than he was earlier that morning, they didn’t stop to ask how or why. They were still preoccupied with teasing Sora, not that he or Roxas paid much attention to them. It didn’t take long before their friends noticed that both boys shared similarly smitten looks. Not that the brothers knew, nor were they ready to share just yet. Both were taken with the promise of warm, sweet cocoa, and even sweeter company.

_~~Fin~~_


End file.
